FINMA: PostFinance’s contingency plan fails again
Keystone-SDA
The contingency plans of Switzerland’s Postfinance bank in the event of severe financial difficulty have once again failed to impress the country’s regulator.
Two other systemically important banks, Zurich Cantonal Bank and Raiffeisen, have, on the other hand, met regulatory requirements of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).
According to a statement issued by FINMA on Wednesday, PostFinance has met the requirements for additional loss-absorbing capital since the end of 2025 and has further developed its alternative strategy.
But the regulator stated that the options envisaged in the event that restructuring and the continued operation of the bank are not possible still need to be further specified.
In this context, Postfinance’s statutory universal service obligation must also be taken into account. The amendment to the Postal Services Act, which is currently under consultation, will reduce legal uncertainty in this regard.
All domestically focused systemically important banks require both an emergency plan and a stabilisation plan, which FINMA assesses annually.
Credit Suisse crisis
In its assessment of the plans submitted in 2025, FINMA noted progress in stabilisation planning at all three domestically focused banks. It had tightened the requirements following the Credit Suisse crisis.
+ Where did it all go wrong for Credit Suisse?
Certain elements of the revised requirements still need to be implemented. This concerns, for example, the documentation of crisis exercises and crisis communication plans. FINMA expects the identified gaps to be closed in a timely manner.
UBS assessment to follow later
However, according to FINMA, the assessment of the contingency plans does not mean that the continuation of systemically important functions is guaranteed without restriction in every conceivable crisis scenario.
The three domestically focused systemically important banks have smaller financial buffers to absorb losses, particularly when compared with globally active systemically important banks. In particularly severe crisis scenarios, this could limit their scope for action.
FINMA intends to provide separate information on UBS’s crisis planning in late autumn 2026.
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Translated from German, reviewed by an English Department journalist.
